Card sorting device and system



AND SYSTEM 2 She-mtzs-Sheet 1 J. D. SHAW CARD SORTING DEVICE March 24,1970 Filed Jan. 24. 1968 IN VENTOR ATfY- dose viz DuS'kaW sr%m March 24,1970 J. D. SHAW 3,502,209

CARD SORTING DEVICE AND SYSTEM Filed Jan. 24, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A? jI70?! I I v fly Joseph 12 671a w BY ATTY.

I NVENTOR United States Patent 3,502,209 CARD SORTING DEVICE AND SYSTEMJoseph D. Shaw, 508 Church St., Brownsville, Pa. 15417 Filed Jan. 24,1968, Ser. No. 700,155 Int. Cl. B07c /34 US. Cl. 209110.5 8 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to improvements insorting devices and systems for cards having tabs and selected tabsevered portions along a common edge thereof.

More specifically this invention is directed to a gravity actuated cardsorter and separating system that employs uniform cards each having arow of individual supporting tabs along one edge portion thereof, eachcard being coded by detaching selected card tabs from said edge portion.

It is an object .of the invention to provide a relatively simplified andreliable card sorting system which may be effected by a positivelyoperated device adapted to separate a pack of edge perforated andpunched cards indiscriminately mingled in the pack by face-wise movementof the pack through a sorting chamber and affording gravity actuateddelivery of selected cards into card trays at particular card receivingtrays located along the chamber.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel edge-tabbed cardstructure especialy adapted to effectively cooperate with the sortingdevice of this invention to carry .out the sorting functions of mysystem.

Further objects will be apparent from the following specification takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings depicting preferredembodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken through the longitudinal center of acard sorting device of this invention. FIG. 2 is a section taken on line2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an exemplary perforated card to be used with mysorting device and system.

FIG. 6 is an edge view of the card shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the card shown in FIG. 5 with selected tabsdetached from the edge portion for coding purposes.

FIG. 8 is a chart illustrating the number and kinds of codes of mysystem as applied to a three (3) rod sorting device shown in FIGS. 1-7of the drawings.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modified form ofmy card sorting device.

FIG. 10 is a section taken .on line 10-10 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an exemplary card to be used with the sortingdevice depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10 of the drawings.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the card shown in FIG. 11 with selected edgelocated tabs detached for coding purposes.

FIG. 13 is a chart illustrative of the codes available for the systemshown in FIGS. 9-12 of the drawings.

3,502,209 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 FIG. 14 is a plan view of a card with amodified form of edge located coding arrangement.

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 10 showing a modified form ofdevice for sorting cards coded as shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a fragmental sectional view, like FIG. 9 showing a furthermodification of my card sorting system.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates an elongated, card sortingchamber having a top wall 11, side walls 12 and 13, and a bottom wall 14that is provided with a longitudinal series of card discharge openings15 therein. Suspended from the top wall into the chamber by means ofnarrow ribs 16 are a number of laterally spaced apart, longitudinallyextending parallel ways which take the form of rods R R and R each ofsaid rods being laterally restricted or discontinued at pre-determinedplaces 17 along their lengths to render each individual place, sorestricted, ineffectual to support a card; said places overhangingcertain of the openings 15 in the bottom wall 14 of the chamber.

A card receiving drawer 18 is detachably mounted beneath the bottom wall14 of the sorting chamber 10 and is divided into a longitudinal seriesof individual trays 19, each tray being in vertical alignment with acard discharge opening 15 in said bottom wall. As best shown in FIG. 3the device is supported upon corner located legs 20 and the drawer 18has opposed, outwardly extending flanges 21 and 22 that are slidablyreceived in confronting channels 23 and 24 formed on the lower parts ofthe side walls 12 and 13, respectively.

An open-topped card pack assembly box 25 (FIGS. 1 and 4) is positionedat the forward end of the chamber and is in .open communication with thechamber, said box being formed by side walls 26 and 27 that are rearwardextensions of the corresponding side walls of the chamber 10 and by abottom wall 28 that is slightly raised or stepped up from the plane ofthe bottom wall 14 .of the chamber. The box also has a forward end wall29 that is joined to the said side walls 26 and 27, said end wall havinga bearing 30 formed centrally therethrough that mounts a push rod 31 foraxially sliding movement therein, the rod having a rectangular pusherplate 32 located within the box and fixed on its leading or rear end anda knob 33 on its opposed forward end.

In FIG. 5 of the drawing there is depicted a card 34 in the form inwhich it would be initially furnished for use with the card sortingdevice shown in FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, said card having an obverse,indicia bearing face 35 and a reverse face 36 having one or moreprojections 37 thereon. In lieu of the projections 37 the reverse facecould be stippled or roughened or have other means that will provideanti-friction contact and suitable air spaces between adjacent cardswhen the cards are assembled in a pack for sorting. The top edge portion38 of the card 35 is provided with a series of pre-formed perforations39 having a laterally restricted slot 40 that permits open communicationof each perforation with the said card edge. It will be noted that eachperforation 39 and restricted slot 40 forms two opposing, laterallyextending tabs 41 and 42 in the card edge that cooperate to suspend thecard in sliding engagement on the rods R R and R The card is coded withrespect to the indicia and data carried on its obverse face by detachingcertain of the cooperating tabs 41 and 42 to form wide, outwardlyflaring openings 43 (FIG. 7) in the edge portion of the particular cardaround selected perforations and slots.

In operation a pack 44 (FIG. 1) of cards 34 with certain cooperatingtabs detached are indiscriminately mingled in the pack and assembled onedge within the box 25 with the common coded edges uppermost and theindicia carrying faces of the cards in the pack facing forwardly. Thebottom and sides of the box maintain the cards in alignment in the packand by manually operating the pusher plate 32 the card pack is pushedtoward the sorting chamber with the coded and perforated holes thereinregistering for slidable reception on the rods R R and R it being notedthat as the cards move into the sorting chamber the cards leave thestepped up bottom portion 28 and are suspended in the chamber only by arod or rods. Said rods have substantially the same diameter as thediameter of the perforations 39 in the cards, the slots 40 formingclearance areas for the cards to pass by the rod support ribs 16connecting the rods to the top wall 11 of the sorting chamber. Theperforated, restricted holes in the cards are adapted to suspend theirrespective cards in sliding engagement on the rods while the detachedtab openings with enlarged mouths 43 are adapted to furnish non-supportfor the particular cards.

As each individual card slides along and is supported by one or more ofthe rods R R and R it will come to a discharge station in which acertain combination of discontinued rod portions 17 and detached tabopenings 43 furnish no support for it and the card will leave the packand fall through the opening into a particular tray 19 located beneaththe discharge station. By way of a specific example, a card 35 havng thecoded pattern illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawing when moving throughthe sorting chamber will come to the statio nfor tray No. 2 and withreference to FIG. 2 of the drawing it will be noted that at said stationrods R and R are solid but rod R has a discontnued portion 17. As thecard tabs were detached at 4343 and thus coded to be at all timesunsupported by rods R and R and to be supported only by rod R by itsperforation 39, discontinuing rod R at 17 will leave the cardunsupported by all the rods and it will fall into the compartment markedNo. 2.

In the chart depicted in FIG. 8 discontinued portions of each rod at aparticular tray station is indicated by a blank, while solid rodportions are indicated by circles. Cards whose coded perforations anddetached tab portions correspond to blanks and solid rod portions,respectively, read horizontally on the chart, will be discharged intothe numbered trays at the left of each horizontal line.

A modified form of my card sorter is depicted in FIGS. 9-13 of thedrawings wherein the elongated card sorting chamber 100 has a top wall110 provided with a number of laterally spaced apart, longitudinallyextending parallel ways which take the form of key-shaped grooves, G Gand G each of said grooves being discontinued or opened at predeterminedplaces 170 along their lengths; said places overhanging certain of thecard discharge openings 150 in the bottom wall 140 of the chamber 100.In FIG. 11 there is shown a card 45 in the form in which it would befurnished for use with the modified sorter depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10 ofthe drawing, said card having a top edge portion 46 provided with aseries of preformed tabs 47 connected to the edge portion by laterallyrestricted portions 48. Each tab 47 and restricted portion 48 cooperatewith a particular key-shaped groove to suspend the card in the sortingchamber, the card being coded by detaching certain of the tabs to leavethe card edge portion at the detached tab position incapable ofsuspending the card.

The sorting device and cooperating card shown in FIGS. 9-13 of thedrawing operate and function similar to the sorter and card illustratedin FIGS. 18 of the drawing, it being understood that a pack of the cards45 are pushed into the sorting chamber 100 with their tabs slidablyengaged in the grooves G G and G the grooves and tabs cooperating tosuspend the cards in the chamber. As each card slides through thechamber predetermined combinations of detached tabs and discontinued oropened groove places will furnish no support for that card and it willfall through the discharge opening into a card receiving tray. The chartshown in FIG. 13 contains key hole symbols which indicate solid groovedportions for a particular tray whereas the blank spaces indicate grooveopenings. Cards whose tabs corresponded with the openings and whosecoded detached tabs correspond to the solid groove symbols for aparticularly numbered tray will be discharged into that tray.

In FIGS. 14 and 15 of the drawings there is shown a further modificationof my card sorting device and with reference to FIG. 14 a card 48 likecard 35 has only one tab 41 detached from its central pre-formedperforation 39 and a single tab 42 detached from its right handpreformed perforation. Cards coded with left and/or right tabs detachedalong with both tabs removed from the preformed perforations are sortedin a chamber 1000 (FIG. 15) wherein the rods R R and R are restrictedlaterally as at 1700 and discontinued or broken as at 17 thus adding twoadditional coding means to the system depicted in FIGS. 18 of thedrawings. It will further be noted that the series of perforations 39 incard 48 are offset with respect to the width dimension of the card. Aset of these cards are adapted to cooperate with a sorter whose rods areoffset laterally with respect to the pack receiving box thereby assuringthat all the cards in the pack must face in the same direction in orderto be threaded on the sorter rods.

With reference to FIG. 16 of the drawing it will be noted that thepre-formed perforations 50 in the card 51 could have inverted T-shapedforms which correspond to similarly shaped inverted T-shaped ways 52depending from the top wall 53 of a sorting chamber 54. By detachingtabs from the card edge and omitting one or both of the arms on theT-shaped ways a great number of card coding combinations may be attainedby this modified card sorting system.

Although only three perforations and their cooperating rods have beenillustrated throughout the drawings both perforations, tabs and theircooperating ways may be increased in number; the coding possibilities ofany given number being exemplified by the Formula 2 raised to the nthpower=total number of code possibilities; where n equals the number ofrods or their respective cooperating perforations in each card. In theexample illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 of the drawings, the codedpossibilities will therefore be 2 2 2:8, while in cards having eight (8)perforations there would be 256 possibilities according to said formula.Cards coded with left and right hand tabs will have the Formula 2 raisedto the 211th power where n=the number of rods or their respectivecooperative perforations in each card.

It will be understood that the foregoing system and construction ofparts is illustrative of the invention and modifications may be made.

What is claimed is:

1. In a card sorting device,

a longitudinal card sorting chamber,

a plurality of parallel, laterally spaced apart card supporting waysextending longitudinally in the upper part of the chamber,

a card pack assembly box at the forward end of the chamber for receivingand holding cards in edgewise condition with their coded edge portionsuppermost and in longitudinal alignment with the ways,

means for advancing the pack face-wise onto the ways and through thechamber with the coded card edge portion slidable in the ways,

means breaking the continuity of the ways at predetermined positionsalong their longitudinal extents and in selected lateral combinations,

and a longitudinal series of card receiving means located beneath thechamber in alignment with said predetermined positions.

2. In a card sorting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cardreceiving means are trays.

3. In a card sorting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the ways arecard supporting rods, the means breaking the continuity of the ways arerestrictions in the 5 rods, and the edge portions of the cards are codedby perforations and restricted slots connecting each perforation to thecard edge and forming card supporting tabs on said edge portion.

4. In a card sorting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the ways arecard supporting grooves, the means breaking the continuity of the waysbeing openings, and the cards are coded by tabs extending from a cardedge portion, said tabs being connected to the edge by restrictedportions.

5. In a card sorting device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the ways arecard supporting rods, the means breaking the continuity of the ways areside restrictions in the rods, and the edge portions of the cards arecoded by perforations and a single card supporting tab adjacent eachperforation.

6. In a punched card sorting device as set forth in claim 3 wherein theperforations in the cards have a diameter to slidably receive the rodsand each perforation communicates with the upper card edge -by a narrowslot.

7. In a punched card sorting device as set forth in 6 claim 6 whereinthe code punches are U-shaped and outwardly flared from the bottomsthereof to clear the rods in non-engaging conditions.

8. In a system for sorting cards, a number of parallel, spaced apartcard supporting ways, means changing the lateral extent of the ways atpredetermined places along their extents, means forming detachable codedway engaging tabs along a top edge portion of each card, and means foradvancing a pack of said cards facewise along the card supporting ways,whereby coded cards in the pack wholly unsupported by said ways willfall by gravity from the pack.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,270,786 1/1942 Portman-Dixon209110.5 3,277,896 10/1966 Cheney 209ll0.5

ALLEN N. KNOWLES, Primary Examiner

